How to Get Out of a Holiday Inn Club Vacations Timeshare: Ask Horizons First

How do I get out of my Holiday Inn Club Vacations timeshare?

If you are still inside your state’s cancellation window, cancel in writing now, because that is free and returns your money. Otherwise, apply to Horizons by Holiday Inn Club Vacations at (866) 228-8689 and ask the same team about resale. Horizons is the developer’s own exit program. It says owners without a mortgage who aren’t using the timeshare because of “financial hardships, health issues or other unforeseen circumstances” may qualify for an exit option, and that qualified owners pay a $1,200 processing fee per contract. Owners with a mortgage are told options “may still be” available. Horizons also says that if it detects a third-party exit company’s involvement on your account, you lose the program, so apply to Horizons and wait for its written answer before contacting any exit firm, including for a free consultation. If the timeshare has no resale value and Horizons says no or quotes terms you can’t accept, a free consultation and file review from an attorney-backed exit firm is one route to consider.

Who is Holiday Inn Club Vacations?

The company says it “was founded by Kemmons Wilson and is majority owned by the Wilson family.” Its timeline starts in 1982, when “Orange Lake Resort is born.” In 2008, Orange Lake Resorts and IHG created the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand, and in 2015 the company acquired Silverleaf Resorts. It reports “365,000+ Members & Owners” and “over two dozen resorts across the United States and Mexico.”

The company describes its current product as “points-based vacation ownership,” in which “You purchase a real estate interest which gives you annual points.” If you bought from Orange Lake or Silverleaf before the rebrand, your contract may carry those names. Horizons’ listing on responsibleexit.com, the exit directory run by ARDA, the developers’ trade group, says it serves owners “from Silverleaf and Orange Lake Resorts (now Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated) owners to Holiday Inn Club members.”

Holiday Inn Club Vacations is private, so it files no annual report with the SEC. There is no public figure for its loan rates, its default rate, or how much of its business comes from existing owners.

How does Horizons work?

The program’s full name is Horizons by Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated. Its ARDA listing calls it “an easy service designed for those wanting to get out of their timeshare permanently and never pay maintenance fees again.”

For owners without a mortgage, the Horizons page says: “If you’re an owner without a mortgage and aren’t using your timeshare as planned due to financial hardships, health issues or other unforeseen circumstances, you may qualify for one of our safe and secure ownership exit options.”

For owners with a mortgage, it says: “If you have a mortgage and are looking to sell your timeshare or exit your ownership, there may still be options available to you. Every owner’s situation is different, so we want to hear from you.”

The process, as Horizons describes it: you submit a form or call, the team reviews your ownership, someone calls you back to explain “the timeshare cancellation options that we offer,” and, if you qualify, Horizons collects the fee to get started. The direct line is (407) 477-7058. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET.

Cost: “If qualified for the program, a $1,200 processing fee per contract is collected.” The FAQ adds that the fee is “sufficient to pay the costs to transfer title” and that “Currently this fee is $1,200 per contract transferred.” Two contracts means two fees.

Who it works for: owners without a mortgage who are not using the timeshare because of hardship, health, or other unforeseen circumstances. Horizons states no minimum ownership period.

What disqualifies you: a third-party exit company’s involvement on your account, by Horizons’ own rule. A mortgage makes the outcome uncertain.

Horizons does not say how long the process takes, whether your maintenance fees must be current, or whether the $1,200 is refundable if the transfer falls through. Ask all three before you pay.

Ask about resale on the same call. The Horizons FAQ says “The ability to sell your timeshare (rather than cancel it) depends on several factors,” including your ownership type and whether you have a mortgage, and that “the best way to start is by contacting our team directly.” Then look at what comparable Holiday Inn Club points have actually sold for. If you list, the FTC says “It’s better to do business with a reseller that takes fees after the timeshare is sold.”

Why does it matter who you call first?

Horizons puts the rule in writing: “Horizons will not recognize any attempted coordination from third-party exit companies. If a third-party exit company involvement is detected on your account, you will forfeit the ability to participate in Horizons and Horizons will no longer be available to you.”

Horizons does not define what counts as “involvement” or how it detects it, and we can’t tell you whether a free consultation with an exit firm would count. That makes the timing simple:

1. Apply to Horizons and wait for its written answer before contacting any exit firm, including for a free consultation.
2. Ask what you qualify for, and what resale would look like, and keep the answers.
3. If the timeshare has no resale value and Horizons has said no or quoted terms you can’t accept, a free consultation and file review is a reasonable next step.

The FTC tells owners exploring an exit to “start by contacting your timeshare company directly,” which for this developer means Horizons.

The company has a history with exit operators. Orange Lake Country Club, Inc., now known as Holiday Inn Club Vacations, sued Reed Hein & Associates, which did business as Timeshare Exit Team, in federal court in Florida (No. 6:17-cv-01542). On January 11, 2020, the company filed a notice that the parties had reached a settlement and that “all claims against all parties have been resolved.” The notice does not state the terms.

What if you still have a mortgage with Holiday Inn Club?

Horizons describes its clearest exit options for owners without a mortgage. If you still owe, ask Horizons directly what is open to you; its resale FAQ says the ability to sell “depends on several factors, including your ownership type and whether you have a mortgage.”

Holiday Inn Club Vacations does not publish its loan rates, so check the annual percentage rate on your own contract. For comparison, three publicly traded developers reported weighted average rates on their timeshare loans for 2025 of 12.9% at Marriott Vacations Worldwide, 14.6% at Travel + Leisure (Wyndham), and 14.7% at Hilton Grand Vacations.

Few lenders will refinance against the timeshare itself, because it has almost no resale value. If you qualify for a lower rate, a personal loan can replace the developer’s loan. Paying off the mortgage may move you into the group Horizons describes as eligible, but get Horizons’ written answer on what you would qualify for once the balance is zero before you refinance to get there. The ownership and the loan are separate obligations; our loan payoff guide shows how to price both.

Why do you keep hearing about upgrades?

Holiday Inn Club Vacations publishes no sales figures. Industry-wide, ARDA’s industry-commissioned 2026 study found that 61% of 2025 timeshare sales volume went to people who already owned one, and that the average maintenance fee per weekly interval rose from $1,120 in 2021 to $1,550 in 2025. So a call about leaving, or an owner meeting, can turn into an offer to buy more. An upgrade is a new, larger contract with a higher annual bill, and if it adds to your loan, it can push you further from the no-mortgage group Horizons describes. Sign nothing at that call or meeting, and if the response to your request to leave is an upgrade pitch, take it as a no. See the upgrade trap.

Can I still cancel with rescission?

If you are still inside your state’s cancellation window, yes, and use it before you call Horizons: rescission returns your money, while Horizons charges $1,200 per contract. Nolo puts the usual window at 3 to 15 days, varying by state, and notes the right is typically nonwaivable. Send written notice by the method your contract names, keep proof of delivery, and check the date with our rescission deadline tool and state-by-state guide.

What if Horizons says no?

Get the refusal in writing and ask exactly what disqualified you. If it was the mortgage, the section above applies. If Horizons has refused you outright, bringing in an exit firm costs you a program that has already said no. If Horizons left a door open, such as eligibility after a payoff, weigh that before you bring anyone in, because the forfeiture rule could close it.

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it.

Vacation Ownership Consultants (VOC), an attorney-backed exit firm in Scottsdale, Arizona, describes developer surrender programs as discretionary policies that are not legal rights, and tells owners to request written confirmation before assuming they have been released. With Horizons, keep that written record for a second reason too: it shows you asked Horizons before anyone else. VOC’s own published process also opens with the developer: “Contact your resort and check the resale market.”

With Horizons’ written answer on file and no resale value, a free consultation and file review can show which remaining route fits and whether anything said at your sale may support a claim. VOC’s version works like this: you send your billing statements, purchase agreement, and deed, if you have one, through its eligibility form; its team determines what your ownership may qualify for; you receive a free file review; and you decide afterward whether to enroll for a one-time flat fee. Its home page says it doesn’t “discuss billing until we’ve made sure you qualify.” VOC’s review is free; other firms set their own terms, so ask first.

An attorney-backed exit firm is one route to consider once Horizons has answered, for example if you still carry a mortgage or Horizons did not accept your circumstances. A legitimate firm reviews your contract and payment history before it quotes anything. Where the method calls for it, the firm retains an attorney who deals with the developer on your behalf and looks for specific problems with how the timeshare was sold, such as a salesperson who pitched it as an investment. In our view, a lawyer’s letter is harder to ignore than a phone queue. No firm can promise how Holiday Inn Club Vacations will respond.

Exit operators have their own enforcement record. Washington’s attorney general said in 2020 that “Reed Hein does business under the name Timeshare Exit Team,” and its 2021 settlement release says more than 2,800 Washingtonians paid the company upfront fees from just under $3,000 to tens of thousands of dollars per exit, and that it at times advised customers to stop paying their resorts. In April 2026, after an FTC investigation, a federal court ordered Christopher Carroll, a top operator of a timeshare exit scheme run through a company called Consumer Law Protection, to pay $140 million. For a Holiday Inn Club owner, the checks that matter most:

• The firm asks whether you have already applied to Horizons, and does nothing on your account until Horizons has answered you in writing.
• It never tells you to stop paying your mortgage or fees. The FTC lists that instruction as a scam sign.
• It quotes one flat fee in writing after reviewing your documents, names the attorney on your file, and never claims a connection to Holiday Inn Club Vacations.

Our red flags page has the complete list, and our stop-paying guide explains what missed payments can lead to.

The order to work in

Inside your cancellation window? Cancel in writing today, before you apply to Horizons, and confirm the date with our rescission deadline tool. It returns your money at no cost.

Everyone else: apply to Horizons and ask about resale. Use (866) 228-8689 and ask in writing what you qualify for, what it costs per contract, how long it takes, whether the fee is refundable, and whether selling is an option for your ownership. Wait for the written answer before contacting any exit firm, and sign nothing if you are offered an upgrade.

No mortgage and Horizons says yes? Pay the fee only after you have the terms in writing, and confirm the title transfer is recorded.

Still have a mortgage? Ask Horizons what applies to you now and what would apply after payoff, and compare a lower-rate personal loan before you refinance.

No resale value, and Horizons said no in writing? Get a free consultation and file review from an attorney-backed exit firm that passes the checks above.

Other routes: if you have documents showing a salesperson misled you, your own attorney can review a claim. If you are allowed to sell, a licensed broker who takes fees only after the sale is the arrangement the FTC recommends. Run the exit cost calculator on what staying costs.

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm, and may be paid when readers hire it. This page’s author, Kira Fairbank, is a manager at Vacation Ownership Consultants. We cite its published case data on this page where marked.

This is general information, not legal advice. Holiday Inn Club Vacations sets the Horizons terms and can change them, and your options depend on your contract, your mortgage, and the law in your state. Before you pay a processing fee, sign a transfer, refinance to qualify, or stop any payment, put your contract in front of an attorney licensed in your state.